Subpart B-Telecommunications Demonstrations

ASSISTANCE FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

SEC. 395. (a) It is the purpose of this subpart to promote the development of nonbroadcast telecommunications facilities and services for the transmission, distribution, and delivery of health, education, and public or social service information. The Secretary is authorized, upon receipt of an application in such form and containing such information as he may by regulation require, to make grants to, and enter into contracts with, public and private nonprofit agencies, organizations, and institutions for the purpose of carrying out telecommunications demonstrations.

(b) The Secretary may approve an application submitted under subsection (a) of this section if he determines that

(1) the project for which application is made will demonstrate innovative methods or techniques of utilizing nonbroadcast telecommunications equipment or facilities to satisfy the purpose of this subpart;

(2) demonstrations and related activities assisted under this subpart will remain under the administration and control of the applicant;

(3) the applicant has the managerial and technical capability to carry out the project for which the application is made; and (4) the facilities and equipment acquired or developed pursuant to the application will be used substantially for the transmission, distribution, and delivery of health, education, or public or social service information.

(c) Upon approving any application under this subpart with respect to any project, the Secretary shall make a grant to or enter into a contract with the applicant in an amount determined by the Secretary not to exceed the reasonable and necessary cost of such project. The Secretary shall pay such amount from the sums available therefor, in advance or by way of reimbursement, and in such installments consistent with established practice, as he may deter

mine.

(d) Funds made available pursuant to this subpart shall not be available for the construction, remodeling, or repair of structures to house the facilities or equipment acquired or developed with such funds, except that such funds may be used for minor remodeling which is necessary for and incidental to the installation of such facilities or equipment.

(e) For purposes of this section, the term "nonbroadcast telecommunications facilities" includes, but is not limited to, cable television systems, communications satellite systems and related terminal equipment, and other modes of transmitting, emitting, or receiving images and sounds or intelligence by means of wire, radio, optical, electromagnetic, or other means.

(f) The funding of any demonstration pursuant to this subpart shall continue for not more than 3 years from the date of the original grant or contract.

(g) The Secretary shall require that the recipient of a grant or contract under this subpart submit a summary and evaluation of the results of the demonstration at least annually for each year in which funds are received pursuant to this section.

(h)(1) Each recipient of assistance under this subpart shall keep such records as may be reasonably necessary to enable the Secretary to carry out the Secretary's functions under this subpart, including records which fully disclose the amount and the disposition by such recipient of the proceeds of such assistance, the total cost of the project or undertaking in connection with which such assistance is given or used, the amount and nature of that portion of the cost of the project or undertaking supplied by other sources, and such other records as will facilitate an effective audit.

(2) The Secretary and the Comptroller General of the United States, or any of their duly authorized representatives, shall have access for the purposes of audit and examination to any books, documents, papers, and records of the recipient that are pertinent to assistance received under this subpart.

(i) The Secretary is authorized to make such rules and regulations as may be necessary to carry out this subpart, including regulations relating to the order of priority in approving applications for projects under this subpart or to determining the amounts of grants for such projects.

(j) The Commission is authorized to provide such assistance in carrying out the provisions of this subpart as may be requested by the Secretary. The Secretary shall provide for close coordination with the Commission in the administration of the Secretary's functions under this subpart which are of interest to or affect the functions of the Commission. The Secretary shall provide for close coordination with the Corporation in the administration of the Secretary's functions under this subpart which are of interest to or affect the functions of the Corporation.

(k) There are authorized to be appropriated $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 1979, 1980, and 1981, to be used by the Secretary to carry out the provisions of this subpart. Sums appropriated under this subsection for any fiscal year shall remain available for payment of grants or contracts for projects for which applications approved under this subpart have been submitted within one year after the last day of such fiscal year.

(47 U.S.C. 395) Enacted June 19, 1934, c. 652, Title III; amended May 1, 1962, P.L. 87-477, 76 Stat. 67; amended Nov. 7, 1967, P.L. 90-129, sec. 201(2), 81 Stat. 367; amended June 5, 1976, P.L. 94-309, sec. 5, 90 Stat. 684; amended Nov. 2, 1978, P.L. 95-567, sec. 201, 92 Stat. 2409.

Subpart C-Corporation for Public Broadcasting

CONGRESSIONAL DECLARATION OF POLICY

SEC. 396. (a) The Congress hereby finds and declares that

(1) it is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of public radio and television broadcasting, including the use of such media for instructional, educational, and cultural purposes;

(2) it is in the public interest to encourage the growth and development of nonbroadcast telecommunications technologies for the delivery of public telecommunications services;

(3) expansion and development of public telecommunications and of diversity of its programming depend on freedom, imagination, and initiative on both local and national levels;

(4) the encouragement and support of public telecommunications, while matters of importance for private and local development, are also of appropriate and important concern to the Federal Government;

(5) it furthers the general welfare to encourage public telecommunications services which will be responsive to the interests of people both in particular localities and throughout the United States, and which will constitute an expression of diversity and excellence;

(6) it is necessary and appropriate for the Federal Government to complement, assist, and support a national policy that will most effectively make public telecommunications services available to all citizens of the United States; and

(7) a private corporation should be created to facilitate the development of public telecommunications and to afford maximum protection from extraneous interference and control.

CORPORATION ESTABLISHED

(b) There is authorized to be established a nonprofit corporation, to be known as the "Corporation for Public Broadcasting", which will not be an agency or establishment of the United States Government. The Corporation shall be subject to the provisions of this section, and, to the extent consistent with this section, to the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

(c)(1) The Corporation shall have a Board of Directors (hereinafter in this section referred to as the "Board"), consisting of fifteen members appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. Not more than eight members of the Board may be members of the same political party.

(2) The members of the Board (A) shall be selected from among citizens of the United States (not regular fulltime employees of the United States) who are eminent in such fields as education, cultural and civic affairs, or the arts, including radio and television; (B) shall be selected so as to provide as nearly as practicable a broad representation of various regions of the country, various professions and occupations, and various kinds of talent and experience appropriate to the functions and responsibilities of the Corporation. (3) The members of the initial Board of Directors shall serve as incorporators and shall take whatever actions are necessary to establish the Corporation under the District of Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act.

(4) The term of office of each member of the Board shall be six years; except that (A) any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term; and (B) the terms of office of members first taking office shall begin on the date of incorporation and shall expire, as designated at the time of their appointment, five at the end of two years, five at the end of four years, and five at the end of six years. No member shall be eligible to serve in excess of two consecutive terms of six years each. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions

of this paragraph, a member whose term has expired may serve until his successor has qualified.

(5) Any vacancy in the Board shall not affect its power, but shall be filled in the manner in which the original appointments were made.

ELECTION OF CHAIRMAN; COMPENSATION

(d)(1) The members of the Board shall annually elect one of their number as Chairman. The members of the Board shall also elect one or more of them as a Vice Chairman or Vice Chairmen.

(2) The members of the Board shall not, by reason of such membership, be deemed to be employees of the United States. They shall, while attending meetings of the Board or while engaged in duties related to such meetings or in other activities of the Board pursuant to this subpart be entitled to receive compensation at the rate of $100 per day including travel time, and while away from their homes or regular places of business they may be allowed travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, equal to that authorized by law (section 5703 of Title 5) for persons in the Government service employed intermittently.

OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

(e)(1) The Corporation shall have a President, and such other officers as may be named and appointed by the Board for terms and at rates of compensation fixed by the Board. No officer or employee of the Corporation may be compensated by the Corporation at an annual rate of pay which exceeds the rate of basic pay in effect from time to time for level I of the Executive Schedule under section 5312 of Title 5. No individual other than a citizen of the United States may be an officer of the Corporation. No officer of the Corporation, other than the Chairman and any Vice Chairman, may receive any salary or other compensation from any source other than the Corporation during the period of his employment by the corporation. All officers shall serve at the pleasure of the Board.

(2) Except as provided in the second sentence of subsection (c)(1) of this section, no political test or qualification shall be used in selecting, appointing, promoting, or taking other personnel actions with respect to officers, agents, and employees of the Corporation.

NONPROFIT AND NONPOLITICAL NATURE OF THE CORPORATION

(f)(1) The Corporation shall have no power to issue any shares of stock, or to declare or pay any dividends.

(2) No part of the income or assets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of any director, officer, employee, or any other individual except as salary or reasonable compensation for services.

(3) The Corporation may not contribute to or otherwise support any political party or candidate for elective public office.

PURPOSES AND ACTIVITIES OF CORPORATION

(g)(1) In order to achieve the objectives and to carry out the purposes of this subpart, as set out in subsection (a) of this section the Corporation is authorized to

(A) facilitate the full development of public telecommunications in which programs of high quality, diversity, creativity, excellence, and innovation, which are obtained from diverse sources, will be made available to public telecommunications entities, with strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature;

(B) assist in the establishment and development of one or more interconnection systems to be used for the distribution of public telecommunications services so that all public telecommunications entities may disseminate such services at times chosen by the entities;

(C) assist in the establishment and development of one or more systems of public telecommunications entities throughout the United States; and

(D) carry out its purposes and functions and engage in its activities in ways that will most effectively assure the maximum freedom of the public telecommunications entities and systems from interference with, or control of, program content or other activities.

(2) In order to carry out the purposes set forth in subsection (a) of this section, the Corporation is authorized to

(A) obtain grants from and make contracts with individuals and with private, State, and Federal agencies, organizations, and institutions;

(B) contract with or make grants to public telecommunications entities, national, regional, and other systems of public telecommunications entities, and independent producers and production entities, for the production or acquisition of public telecommunications services to be made available for use by public telecommunications entities, except that—

(i) to the extent practicable, proposals for the provision of assistance by the Corporation in the producion or acquisition of programs or series of programs shall be evaluated on the basis of comparative merit by panels of outside experts, representing diverse interests and perspectives, appointed by the Corporation; and

(ii) nothing in this subparagraph shall be construed to prohibit the exercise by the Corporation of its prudent business judgment with respect to any contract or grant to assist in the production or acquisition of any program or series of programs recommended by any such panel;

(C) make payments to existing and new public telecommunications entities to aid in financing the production or acquisition of public telecommunications services by such entities, particularly innovative approaches to such services, and other costs of operation of such entities;

(D) establish and maintain, or contribute to, a library and archives of noncommercial educational and cultural radio and television programs and related materials and develop public awareness of, and disseminate information about, public tele